{"id":38536,"date":"2023-10-24T18:14:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T16:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1913640"},"modified":"2023-10-25T09:20:28","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T07:20:28","slug":"killers-of-the-flower-moons-epic-length-is-a-strength-not-a-weakness","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/killers-of-the-flower-moons-epic-length-is-a-strength-not-a-weakness\/","title":{"rendered":"Killers of the Flower Moon\u2019s epic length is a strength not a weakness"},"content":{"rendered":"

The film’s three-and-a-half-hour duration is part of what makes it such a rewarding experience. <\/p>

By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 24 October 2023 at 16:14 PM<\/p>

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There are probably more interesting aspects of Killers of the Flower Moon<\/a> to discuss than its runtime: the impeccable performances from Lily Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro for example, or the fascinating and nuanced discussions that have emerged about the film\u2019s perspective and the ingenious manner in which Martin Scorsese opted to end it.<\/p>\n

But ever since its epic 3-and-a-half-hour length was first revealed, some film fans have become fixated on questioning whether such a prolonged duration is really necessary.<\/p>\n

Indeed, even many of the fans and critics who have been otherwise enthusiastic in their assessments have pointed to that runtime as an obstacle. The film is terrific, they say, but did it really have to be so long?<\/p>\n

Speaking on his popular podcast with Simon Mayo, the esteemed film critic Mark Kermode devoted much of his review<\/a> to this matter, suggesting that Scorsese had become ill-disciplined in an age where streamers have given him free rein to make films as long as he sees fit.<\/p>

Now, as much as I respect Kermode, I\u2019m not sure this critique holds much water. Throughout his career, Scorsese has often made films that hover around the three-hour mark \u2013 Casino, The Aviator, and Gangs of New York are three such examples \u2013 and so his two most recent pictures hardly represent some kind of radical shift since he began partnering with the streaming giants.<\/p>\n

But quite apart from that, I\u2019d argue that far from being a weakness the length of Killers of the Flower Moon is one of the qualities that makes it such a fascinating and compelling experience. This is a richly detailed film that tells its story with patience and precision, slowly unfolding until it reaches a crescendo that is all the more powerful for the sustained build-up that has come before it. In other words, it\u2019s the kind of film that leaves the viewer walking out of the cinema with the feeling they\u2019ve experienced something seismic and profound. So much of its momentum would be lost if the runtime was truncated, or worse still, split into four one-hour chunks.<\/p>\n